Hundreds march through Center City in protest of Phila. School District

August 22, 2013 8:44:19 PM PDT

Action News

PHILADELPHIA - August 22, 2013 --

With a light rain falling, about 1,000 teachers, students and parents marched to Philadelphia School District headquarters to rally for more funding to restore jobs and programs that have been cut.

"Shame on Michael Nutter, shame on Governor Corbett. We know what we deserve, we deserve more and better," said Amy Roat, teacher.

Last week, the City agreed to borrow $50 million to give the district, just so it can open schools as planned on September 9. However many of the schools may open without counselors, administrative staff, nurses and librarians.

"A building with only teachers and security is not a school at all, it's just a prison," said Othella Stanback, Philadelphia Student Union.

Rally organizers see the $50 million as just another rash of band aids to merely keep the financially troubled school district on life support.

Earlier Thursday, the group gathered outside Comcast headquarters calling on large corporations to pay their fair share on taxes to support city schools.

The march continued to City Hall to demand Mayor Nutter and City Council to find immediate additional funding for all public school needs.

Students from Baltimore and Boston were even bussed in to join their rally cry.

"The fact that they have not found the funding to fully fund these schools is an outrage," said Tre Murphy.

What remains unclear is how much more, if anything, will be kicked in by the teachers.

The District is asking for $130 million in concessions from the Teachers Union, whose contract expires at the end of August.

"It is a sham, it is a disgrace that the SRC, the Governor, the Mayor are allowing this to happen," said Jerry Jordan, President of Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

However many believe it is unlikely that the state or the city will agree on any new permanent source of funding for the school district.